"Friday's news reports of a vicious fight between schoolgirls of Barataria North Secondary School must strike a chord in all of us who are concerned about a growing breakdown in our civi-lised behaviour. But to describe the beating of a Form 5 schoolgirl by female classmates as a 'fight' is to put an air of mutual misbehaviour on an incident which appeared on video to be more of a vicious assault by at least two girls, and then by an adult, upon the victim" (June 12, Newsday editorial). The editorial went on to state that "this sort of violence must be declared to be absolutely unacceptable." I agree, but who is going to make that declaration? Government? Parents? Opposition? IRO? PSA? Natuc? Media association? Where is the outrage? It appears as though fear, insensitivity and greed have silenced us. We are drowning and we do not wish to admit it, so it will be a blow to our pride to cry for help. But help is what we need. Gang violence in our schools is not fiction but a stark reality. We are a nation in pain, but we prefer to move to the right and move to the left, when in fact we are moving to the wrong.
The future killers of our nation are receiving violent mentoring by gangs in the school and gangs in the community. Deans in our school have been assaulted by parent-empowered "bandidolets." Parents have assaulted teachers in front of pupils. We even had an incident in the east-west corridor where a principal assaulted a teacher. Where are we going? How do we enforce discipline in a culture of indiscipline? And let us not forget that we have had charges brought against police officers for crimes of sexual misconduct against minors. The hallucinating monarchs of all they survey believe that they are invincible and untouchable. We have nurtured directly and indirectly a culture of sadistic youth. There are boys who are exposed to the violence of their fathers and grandfathers. There are boys who have seen their fathers brutalise their mothers. There are boys who play with the guns of their fathers. There are boys who have been spoilt by well-intended but weak grandparents who should never be saddled with the responsibility of managing these tattoo-infested, uncontrollable, rude and crude secondary school students.
OK, so there are pictures of the faceless on Facebook. Students prequalifying for world brutality championships, inflicting wounds on other students. How soon will they be locked up? Who will report on progress made in bringing the perpetrators to justice? We are a nation in danger of premature rejoicing and displaying blatant irresponsibility. We need help but we reject the help. We delight in sensationalism. So an adult beats the already beaten, hurts her in the drain, and flogs the child mercilessly. This adult behaves like a cockroach with steel claws. What a poor example. What a model of indiscipline and crassness. What a dynamic example of idiocy? A reptile in human form. We must get to the top and bottom of this crazy behaviour. The country must demand answers. Dwayne Gibbs must demand answers and report to the population. At Carnival time we wine, dine and decline. In the Lenten period we continue the stupidity. We are a nation in denial and that is why we are not dealing with the cockroaches that have steel claws. For decades we have had gangsters shining in the URP and abusing women.
Ghost gangs were massaged by political functionaries. Political parties used terrorists to advance their selfish desires and then seek to put pressure on them after they obtain power. Politicians have met with community leaders and within a few years, these same leaders are assassinated-all except one. You see we sometimes resort to extrajudicial killings, because if we follow the official streams of justice the leaders will belch and the stench will surpass the horrific smell of a million skunks. We are a nation in denial. In fact, this is hurting the region. We have had political aristocrats in the Caribbean basin interfering with minors. Sophisticated legal luminaries have advantaged minors and used them as tools in the major league.
As the FIFA scandal escalates, we wonder about the outcome of the million-dollar Uff enquiry and the cockroaches with steel claws that controlled Udecott. We may not have the heart to go after those who have weak, foreign, local, used or foreign-used hearts. If we do not have the heart, we should try to have the will.
Government has changed, but we still have the worrying quarrying issue hanging like a sword of Damocles over our heads. Look at the EMA and the resignation of Prof Julian Kenny. After just six months as chairman of the Environmental Management Authority he resigned, citing "govern- ment's failure to change a law that was amended in 2007, by the PNM, that allowed quarries of 150 acres or less to be cleared without a Certificate of Environmental Clearance."
But this might not be the only issue. Additionally, we have the nagging, headaching, touchy issue of the granting of quarry licences. We could have heard rumours of police and quarry bandits making a killing. We might also have heard of death threats issued to honest police officers who wish to rock the corruption boat.
But a loss is a loss. Who is crying and hurting over the resignation of Prof Kenny? But I can tell you who is laughing: the cockroaches with steel claws gripping their bank books, as zeros are added with a few commas to their bank accounts. What is there about political parties who jump on the bandwagon of crucial issues with a pulsating level of energy while they are in opposition? Listen, as soon as they get into government, they abandon many of the noble ideals and projects and they listen to the voices of the selfish. One of the voices the Government must not ignore is the voice of activist Wayne Kublalsingh. He is undoubtedly a genuine citizen who understands the ideals that should shape national development. And Kim Boodram's article in the Sunday Express proves this point. Of course, he would not have $100,000 or even $10,000 to give to political parties, but his advice on the environment would be worth millions of dollars. Let us decide to move swiftly to deal with the selfish, nepotistic cockroaches with steel claws. The People's Partnership must not disappoint the soldiers who love integrity.